The Importance of Gifting & WIN with Boots Secret Santa

Christmas Day is fast approaching and, as well as planning an epic Christmas dinner that I’ll be cooking myself for the first time, I’m working hard to pick out the perfect presents for my friends and family. Christmas gifting is important to me as its a way of saying thank you for everything that they’ve done for me over the last 12 months.

It’s been a tough year to say the least and I cannot thank them enough for their support so being able to buy them a gift that shows that I have taken an interest and actively listened to what is going on in their lives while mine has been so hectic is a great way for me to give back to them.

While Christmas is definitely more about who is around your tree than what is under it, gift giving is certainly important. It’s a way of sending a message of love, thanks and appreciation.

I’m a firm believer that no matter your budget, if you’re going to give a gift, you need to do it properly; i.e. thoughtfully and with effort. Whether you’re spending £5 on a Secret Santa gift or £500 on a splash out, luxury surprise, pick out something that the person you’re buying for will really love, don’t just buy something for the sake of it, and wrap it beautifully too.

Wrapping is the first impression someone will get of your gift and how much thought you’ve put into it. It doesn’t matter whether you’re gifting a designer fragrance or a budget bubble bath, if its been wrapped like its fish and chips, that’ll instantly give the impression that you’re not bothered and no one wants that, do they? My best advice is to pick a colour scheme or theme for your wrapping and to choose items that coordinate well with one another. There are so many big packs of Christmas gift wrap that work well for this and wont break the bank.

Wrapping a gift well certainly adds to the excitement and anticipation of whats inside but the success of the gift largely depends on how well you know the person, your listening skills and your investigative prowess.

Pick a present like a pro by noting down any gift ideas you get from talking to your loved ones. If they smell a perfume on you and compliment you on it, make a note on your phone. Similarly, if they tell you’re they’re running out of their favourite body lotion or that they could really do with relaxing in the bath after a stressful day at work, make a note of it. If you notice that they tend to have sweet scents around their home, be it with candles or existing products then jot that down too as all of these things will help you to find the perfect gifts for the people you love and show them that you’ve chosen them thoughtfully with them in mind.

This year, I’m on a tighter budget than I have been in previous years so paying attention and getting the gift right in one rather than in several presents is important to me. So far, I’ve picked up a gorgeous bracelet for my mam that I know she’ll love because when I got her another piece of jewellery for her birthday, she said that she loved how sentimental it was and she’s worn it every time we’ve gone out somewhere since, and I’ve bought my dad a huge bottle of the aftershave he’d pointed out on a TV ad, having smelt it when walking through the airport.

My Christmas shopping is far from over for this year but having a good idea of what I want to get my friends and family certainly makes the job a lot easier and it enables me to stick to my budget too.

You can gift thoughtfully no matter how much you have to spend, even if you’re on a £5 spending cap for the office Secret Santa! Boots have a fantastic range of Christmas gifts for her so there’s no excuse not to give a gorgeous gift this Christmas!

This year, I’m taking part in the Boots Secret Santa campaign which is all about sharing the love and Christmas spirit by giving a little happiness to others.

I’m going to be giving a surprise gift worth £100 to blogger Alice, from Teacake Travels and in return, I’ll receive a gift from another blogger too. I’ll also be giving away the same gift that I picked out to one of you so enter below for your chance to win!